On the Agenda...

This week (on Thursday) I have Bean's IEP meeting.  Can you sense the excitement?  I fully plan on discussing the fact that it has been nearly the entire school year and not once did the speech teacher bother to give me any sort of update as to Bean's progress.  Frankly, I have my doubts that speech even took place for a few of those months.

How do they expect a child to excel if the parents are kept in the dark?  How can 20 minutes, twice a week, possibly help a child if the parent is not given information to reinforce what is being learned in therapy?

And after voicing how irritating that is, I will be sure to point out that I do NOT want speech services for her in the future.  I will be asking her pediatrician at her yearly appointment (later in June) for a referral to an outside source.

And don't worry, I plan on being completely polite.  I'll kill them with kindness.

Red-Tailed Hawk

I was driving my daughter to her school when I spotted this guy on the fence post across the street from our house.  I stopped to take a picture.

I zoomed in from the car...

And when I got back from dropping off my daughter it was still there!  Bug and I walked across the street and took a few more pics.  We didn't need zoom this time - we were right next to it!

The hawk was eyeing us but it never flew off.  I don't know if it is guarding a nest or sick or guarding prey or what, but it is still there.  Wow!  What an amazing treat for us to have seen it so up close and personal.

And now just my bit of wildlife conservation info - We got our pictures and now we are leaving it alone.  When you see a bird like this, or any other creature, you do not harass it.  Enjoy the beauty and then move on.  Today my son got an amazing impromptu nature lesson and I am so grateful!

End of School Year

In a few short weeks our first grade year will come to an end.  Our official last day of school is June 9.

Bug will be taking a two week break at that time and then he will begin his second grade studies.

I am so pleased with how well Bug is doing in his schooling.  It does my heart good to know that he is learning and thriving and absorbing so much.

Oh, and let me not forget to mention that today is his birthday - seven years-old!

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

And I just wanted to point out his latest reading obsession...

Roscoe Riley Rules

He LOVES LOVES LOVES these books!

Blogger Malfunction

So Blogger had a bit of a malfunction last week and it caused my blogs to go all wonky. The only way to fix it was for me to delete posts and then repost them. If you got posts twice in your reader it is because I had to delete a few and repost them in order for the labels to go back to normal. I was waiting for Blogger to fix it, but it seemed easier for me to just take it into my own hands. Sometimes you just have to do that.

Flowers, Trees - Plants!

This week in science...

We began learning about plants.

We are talking about different types of plants, the different parts of plants, and what plants are good for.

We are using big words like photosynthesis - Bug likes that!

We are creating a booklet all about how plants grow.

We are growing a tree - yes, an actual tree! (Lowe's gave away seedlings as part of an Earth Day event and we are growing ours and learning about soil, water, and sun.)

We are preparing to plant our garden - strawberries and tomatoes and maybe something else if we can ever decide what.

It's spring and our science lessons are reflecting that quite nicely!  Fun times!

Wolf Cub

Just a quick note to the blog to say that Bug has earned his Tiger Badge and is now a Wolf Cub!

There is an actual ceremony on June 9th for changing ranks, but he is considered a Wolf now even before then as he has completed all of his requirements and presented them to his Den.

So proud of my little Bug!

House Hunters and Blocks

This has nothing to do with school.  I just think it's kind of funny...

Bug is really into watching House Hunters.  Actually,  both kids are.  I guess the Hubby and I have watched it so much that it has rubbed off on them.

Anyways, Bug loves to pick which house will get chosen by the people looking.  He gets excited if he picks the same one and says they "were wrong" if he picks a different one - it's really cute.

Even cuter, though, is that right now Bug is building little towns with his blocks and playing House Hunters.  He has a little man that he is taking through the "houses" and he is describing features and he keeps pulling me over to watch and see which house gets chosen.  It's incredibly creative!